Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s convoy is set to leave for Kohat after the chief minister addressed PTI supporters in Karak as part of the party’s ongoing protest march towards Islamabad.
The PTI has continued with the march despite warnings from the federal government, which has vowed to prevent the protesters from entering Islamabad. The party is demanding the release of its founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.
The march was launched after negotiations between the opposition and the federal government failed over several issues, including disagreements over counterterrorism policy and the PTI’s demand for access to Imran Khan.
Addressing supporters at Jail Chowk in Karak on Monday, Afridi again criticised the federal government’s counterterrorism policy and questioned previous military operations and drone strikes in the province.
The KP chief minister also responded to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s criticism of him a day earlier, when Naqvi described Afridi as “immature”.
Referring to remarks by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz regarding the threat of terrorism to Punjab, Afridi questioned whether he would be considered mature if he made similar claims about security threats to his province.
Earlier, PTI supporters gathered at Karak’s Jail Chowk to welcome Afridi as his convoy arrived in the district.
According to the chief minister’s announced schedule, residents of Karak were expected to join the convoy around noon, with departure planned for 12:30pm. The departure was delayed.
The convoy is scheduled to stay overnight in Kohat before resuming its journey towards Peshawar at noon on October 6. It is then expected to spend the night near Mattani.
The PTI launched the protest march from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon after it had previously been postponed. Afridi’s convoy later reached Karak, where he addressed party supporters.
Authorities had imposed Section 144 in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Dera Ismail Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu, with restrictions in place for varying periods.
Former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading PTI workers from Dera Ismail Khan towards Lakki Marwat, turned back from Yarik on Monday after encountering road blockades and citing the prevailing law and order situation.
Gandapur said party leadership had directed workers not to damage public property or engage in activities that could worsen the situation. He maintained that the decision to turn back was temporary and should not be considered a withdrawal from the protest movement.
In Karachi, PTI’s planned protests in different areas were disrupted after police deployed personnel, blocked roads and detained party workers and leaders.
The PTI claimed that more than 75 of its leaders and workers, including women, were detained in Karachi. The party also claimed that arrests in other parts of Sindh, including Sukkur, had pushed the total number of detained PTI workers across the province above 100.
The latest protest followed the breakdown of negotiations between the opposition and the federal government.
An opposition delegation comprising PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan representatives held lengthy talks with a joint government and PPP delegation on Saturday night, but the discussions ended without an agreement.
The federal government blamed KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for the collapse of the negotiations, an allegation rejected by the PTI.
The PTI said access to Imran Khan, his medical treatment and the federal government’s counterterrorism policy were among the main issues behind the deadlock.
The party claimed that the government had agreed to restore meetings between Imran and his family members and lawyers from Tuesday, but refused to include access to the former prime minister in the proposed agreement.
